Mass murders and School Shootings: An Assertation of Gun Control Through the Eyes of a Benevolent Sociopath.

....A disconnected concert of information laden with opinion by yours truely; you have been warned....

From the time I was five or six, my mother was dating a veteran of a foreign war, a man who served this country through medical evacuation of the wounded and he owned guns, many guns. When his father died, he inherited more guns. My mom’s boyfriend grew up on a ranch with guns having a place in their daily lives, and even when I was a boy, growing up in the ‘80s, all the men in my family owned their own gun; hunting rifles namely but pistols were common. I can still remember when I was kid and my mom’s boyfriend was cleaning his .45 Smith and Wesson, and I learned how all the components came together to make a lethal machine; in that moment I earned my respect for the contraption. It is tradition handed down generationally. Now almost every male of proper age in my family owns a firearm except for me. As I was growing up everyone reiterated the importance in maintaining a firearm from the proper handling to its practical applications. Society has grown and changed to a point where I do not need a rifle for my survival, but I can still see they have practical applications, as does a pistol.

My grandfather died when I was three from a brain aneurysm but he had served for our country and kept a gun, I think one of my uncles received his service pistol. My grandmother grew up in a catholic home from Italian decedent and her father stored a loaded shotgun in the closet up until the day he died; my grandma is 80 year-old is perhaps has had the greatest influence on my life, outside of my mother and her boyfriend, and she even owns a pistol. I am one of the many countless success stories of growing up with an open firearm in the household. As a kid I made my mistakes, I should not have showen the .357 stored in a drawer to all my friends, but we live and we learn and we get lucky. I never took a gun to school even though I had plenty of opportunity, and because I respect life my bullies and I are still around.

The gun makes it easier to take someone’s life, I will not even try to deny this, but for every life a gun has taken a gun has saved countless more. Outside hunting and trick shot, a gun has little purpose other than being collectable but everything is collectable. This is why a gun is so valuable; it has a certain purpose that nothing else can do to that degree of efficiency, and is why many governments have taken guns away from their civilians. When the government does manage to take away guns nothing usually good comes of it. Crime rate increases, as does the probability of an attack by another country, and genocide is also a real threat when you disarm the people.

I imagine there must be a way to protect the people without disarming everyone; the key is to isolate pivotal issues and try to find the simplest, most organic solution possible. A solution we can agree will help but not hinder yet provides the best outcome for all the possibilities. As the president said, the answer to the problem is not going to be clear-cut and derived on one avenue alone; a discernible solution will have multiple facets addressed. The solution must act like a net and not like the recreational angler because the problems in our society are larger than access to a certain type of weapon. The spider makes a web with everything connected and blanketing an entire area. A spider will go hungry if it casts out a single line of silk. There are many areas instigating ill behavior in the absence of morality. It is in my opinion; Gun control would be best suited primarily through development of educational resources with reformation of public schooling; with mental health facilities and media coverage being a close second, instead of an aggressive regulation on a specific type of weapon.

The tragedy in Connecticut, in December 2012 where a young man, age 20, forced his way into an elementary school stirred up a political debate because one of the guns he allegedly possessed was one of the guns included in a former ban. The overall concern of the people also grew larger from the fact there was another attack of the same nature in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado a few months earlier using the same type of gun. Whether it was one of the guns used in the Newtown, Connecticut incident is up for debate because he possessed multiple guns at the scene of the crime and the reports are conflicting; however, the guns found by the police turned up on registry in his mother’s name. I would like to think this horrible event would have never happened if she had better security over her weapon, perhaps a safe with a combination lock.

These kinds of mass victim attacks are more wide spread than what our media outlets want us to believe, just Google search knife attacks Japan, you will soon find our current problems are much deeper than the availability of guns. I would say it is not that hard to acquire a box cutter, a popular choice for Chinese men going on a rampage since China has a nationwide gun ban already. People clamor to the idea the recent Chinese psychopath did not kill a single child is a moot point. Further research says the Chinese man frequently appearing in American media was trying to disfigure these children by slashing off their ears and fingers, and in a far worst incident in recent history, 20 people killed and twice as many injured by a man wielding a knife. Meanwhile, in Japan, a man with the intent to kill murders seven and injures 10; and another person a few years earlier uses a box truck as well as a dagger to kill nine and injure ten more. I bet we could find more examples if there was the need prove without a reason of doubt prohibition does not work.

I am so glad the strict gunslaws are protectinghelpless citizen in those countries. I wonder where they are affixing their blame having already outlawed all guns. Back home in America, it is still easier to blame an inanimate object like a rifle or to blame the creators of a violent video game. We need to blame ourselves for allowing each other to be so cruel and cold to each other. The simple act of befriending the victims before a critical situation will steal the power from these lunatics quicker than taking away their gun. I also do not think the government can stem the supply of guns when they cannot even prevent drugs from reaching the street, doing so could also lead to people with even more dangerous guns. I would rather encourage tighter regulation to those under 25, and classifying particular individuals as ineligible to buy certain firearms than I would submit to a prohibition of any kind. Increasing the price on ammunition would not be a bad idea if it could work. For every regulation and stopgap, there is way around it and a way to procure the desired object at a reasonable price. There will always be a black market, so it is better to educate with safety in mind.

Violence is contagious and when a young mind is still malleable it is much easier to spread the disease. Across the landscape, in urban environments, patterns emerged showing the outbreaks of violence occurring over the period of a decade or so. Violence is an epidemic and spreads as an untreated rash does, and as with HIV and cholera the best cure is prevention through education, or hotspots are going to grow and spread throughout.

There has been a lot of talk about how we can prevent or stop mass killing sprees from happening in the first place, and since people are as creative as they are violent, we need an idea better than a gun prohibition any incarnation it may appear. Instead of removing a certain class completely, restricting certain consumers at the point of purchase to that class of weapon is much easier. No one will want to agree to such limitations but it will have a higher rate of civil acceptance over an outright ban. This however, does not address the key issue of prevention as we have seen in China.

The glaring truth of the matter is the majority of mass shootings happen in gun free zones like schools, the post office or the workplace. In Utah teachers carry concealed weapons in the school, and I have never heard of a shooting at public school in Utah. As for the schooling environment, their dropout rate is on par with the national average, and as for ACT scores, Utah ranks amongst the highest in the country. Teachers’ also carrying weapons in war turbulent countries like Israel and have seen positive results, and they carry their guns openly to act as a deterrent to would be attackers.

As for the armed cop at Columbine, there have been school resources officers in the larger junior and senior public schools in Colorado long before the mass shooting ever happened. They tend to be busy with smaller issues while at the school and are a benefit far beyond being the only gun. If the cop on duty was not out to lunch when those two juveniles struck, and if there was a second cop inside the building at the time, the assailants would have met resistance before they entered the school and attacked the kids in the library. What we have certainly established is, on a good day on the right patch of Earth, it takes approximately three to five minutes for the good people with guns to show up and stop the perpetrators. Then the good people with guns need to find the bad guys and make whatever decision they need to make to stop them. After reading the account on Wikipedia and a few news articles of what transpired at Columbine high school, I just want to point out, luckily a large percentage of their bombs failed to detonate. I believe it could have been a lot worse than it actually was on behalf of a small miracle. The what-if’s of every situation can drive someone crazy though, and a lot of the hypotheticals do not matter in the end; bad shit is going to happen. If we learned anything from Columbine it is when it rains it pours, but with some storms there is a rainbow on the horizon reminding us how life can still be beautiful.

No matter what the so-called experts say about gun control they cannot hide the fact murders will kill nearly the same amount of people with knives, random objects or with no weapon at all as they will with a gun. The experts also manage to slip in the notion it might be better to examine the entire family of deadly attacks rather than just one class but do so only very briefly. As for stricter gun laws stopping people in Chicago from killing each other with guns, they are waiting for a discernible trend to emerge but currently it is not looking too good. Recent graphs show in Chicago homicides committed with a gun are up 40%; while in the states where they passed the right to carry a gun have had their rates drop to meet the national average. The national average has also declined after the assault weapon ban expired in 2004 and the current president did not resign the act.

I think one of our problems we face, not with gun control but with humanity as a whole, is our willingness to believe misleading statements. We tend to glance over the details and assume what is presented is accurate rather than informing ourselves. We depend on others for the correct answer, or the proper reaction. We tend to believe everything is the truth, and allow every correctable inaccuracy and blatant lie to go uncorrected.

In one breath researchers will say, “Those persons with guns in the home were at greater risk than those without guns in the home of dying from a homicide inside the home… by a factor of almost 2 times more likely” according to our study. In one of the following sentences they cover their asses, and in the same research report it will say, “It is not possible with this methodology to adequately assess whether access to a gun increases the risk of a violent death at the individual level. “ I would not trust any information used from a research paper that admits the data is non-specific, and could have undefined variables skewing the results. The logic demonstrated here also dictates that if a garbage disposal unit is located inside the home, someone is more likely to suffer an injury by one than if the home went without, and this is true about stoves and other dangerous household objects.

I love the myth; you are more likely to die from your own gun because it is such any easy myth to quash. Well, I am not going to, I am actually going to elaborate as to why this is such a hypocritical notion. You have to compare this to something, right, so I want to use a small melee weapon for example. I am going to skip the researchers’ statics here and on because my logic states the safest place a person can be when in a fight is more than an arm’s length a way. Please explain if you follow the simple rule how the gun will exchange possession. Unless you throw it at the person or you are too afraid to use it, or if the other person is intimidated, everything will be all right. In the case, the person is not intimidated, a baton and knife will not work either if you’re afraid, also nothing that will add only a few inches to your arm’s length is going to be a huge help. Unless you are stronger, faster and better trained than the ninja you are facing, go ahead be my guest but I prefer projectiles. What do you think I am, a cop trained to use the least amount of force necessary? If I had to pick a weapon other than a gun, personally I would train with throwing knives. That is just me though; call me crazy but I like to keep as much distance between my possible assailant and me as I can.

As for the other scenarios, I think the majority of our Law Enforcement Officials that carry a firearm on duty prove responsible gun ownership. I imagine they are at lower risk of a fatal firearm accident than the typical gun owner when following proper protocol, therefore, coupled with the information the news fails to tell us, like a person is far more likely to die from an accidental poisoning or a fall. It becomes clear quite quickly a little safety training goes a long way, and there are items that are far more dangerous that surround our daily lives. People are even more likely to die from drowning, the environment, burns, and machinery than they are from an accident involving a gun. A motor vehicle causes more deaths per year than any other type of accidental death does and this most likely why we have accepted so many regulations guarding the use of a vehicle. Any other type of transportation, other than a bicycle, has more accidental deaths than a gun.

A gun has never gone off accidentally when no one was touching it and it was in the proper place, seems simple right but there will always be the showoff or knucklehead that does not understand. The number of gun accidents resulting in death might drop even lower than the already extremely low half a percent if people just locked up their guns or separate it from the ammunition whenever it is not in use, do not leave the gun loaded or with a round in the chamber, this will prevent the majority of the accidents. Also, never point the gun at something you do not intend on shooting, so do not play cowboy and spin the gun, and keep it out the reach of children, another reduction of accidental death yet again. There are little rules to safely owning a gun; much like with owning a car but not everyone follows the rules. These little precautions reduce the amount of accidents but do not prevent them completely. It is needless to say, I do not think passing a licensing test is going to be the fix-all-answer to gun control and I have my doubts if it would even help at all since crime comes from a thought. I even have my reservation about the need for a Hunter Safety license as it is and I hope it becomes more informative in the future. Everything taught in the course is, I hope, common sense or knowledge handed down through oral tradition, and little pertains to gun safety, but it is important because not everyone comes from a background like mine; hence the reason for the permit in the first place, but fails to address the real issue.

One last safety concern people have about owning a gun is about accidental discharge. Now days, it is hard to purchase a full metal jacket in a caliber larger than a .22 or for a gun designed with the purpose of concealment because there are strict guidelines on the makeup of a bullet’s outer shell and inner core to stop cop killers. This means federal laws prohibit rounds considered armor piercing, or in other terms, a bullet that will not fragment and break up or deform when it meets considerable resistance. Ergo, no matter how clumsy a person is when handling the weapon, a bullet will never reach the next room let alone the neighbor’s house by simply choosing the right type of ammunition unless bad luck happens to have two parallel windows open at the precise moment. Still people are worried about ricochets and such, rubber bullets and salt rounds have been around since I was a kid.

It is undeniable accidents happen, and there is no possible way of stopping all of them, we must remain realistic in our approach to curbing the senseless violence, because it is far too easy to look for a scapegoat. I think through education better gun control is possible. Apart from teaching our children from an early age how to use a gun, we must teach them the current message in the popular media does not adhere to society’s morals surrounding the acceptable applications of a gun. I also think it cannot be overstated how as a civilization we need to work on dealing with our emotions in a healthier fashion as well.

During the panic and fear that follows every tragedy, we see new laws emanate to protect the people from the danger that lurks. I do not know about you but Mk-Ultra and the Manchurian candidate have been some ideas that have passed over my mind lately. It would not surprise me a bit if their missions contain propaganda used to distort the public’s perception allowing the global elite to enslave humanity. All joking aside, as for civil liberties of every United States citizen, I fight for every single one of our liberties, and to press upon this point, I want to remind you I do not own a firearm but I do still support the right. I will also not let fear be a controlling factor clouding my judgment.

I am sensing a pattern I have witnessed before with the irrational fears surrounding marijuana; the fear comes from a misconception and a lack of understanding. Winston Churchill once said, “A lie gets half way around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Educate yourselves and be proud when you can look through the forest and see all the trees. If people would take the time to inform themselves with the resources readily available, people would not have to spend ten times the amount of energy and time to quail the shit-storm the initial false statement caused.

As a United States citizen, I have the right to bear arms and any arms I want, if I want to store a RPG for the possibility the cold war heats up, I feel that is my right and the government does not need to know about it. I understand the permit for a tank, that is a vehicle, but militarized explosives are another thing. There are many questions that can be asked about self-protection, entertainment, and civil liberties but do I really need to repeat those questions because I jokingly said we should treat rocket propelled grenades as potentially threatening as a shot gun, and a vehicle is more dangerous than both. We have inalienable rights as US citizen, we have grown complacent over time with those freedoms, and we have watched as they slipped away and are allowed through permission only, now the time has come for them to take more from us. We cannot let this happen; we need to take back what is rightfully ours.

I for one would not suggest submitting to a thorough criminal investigation at any point, even as an innocent suspect in a murder because any evidence coming from cooperation is admissible in the court of law against you. Therefore, I will not support legislation of this type guarding the purchase of a gun and I think it is a violation of privacy. Background checks do little to stop the wrong people from buying guns. A background check and registry only keeps the honest people honest, it does little to stop the actual criminals and nothing to stop a criminal without a history.

As for knives and such, they have been around much longer and are more prevalent than guns but I do not see that many kitchens registering their cutlery. Just like a car, society is less likely to give up such tools if the applications for the tool are plentiful and numerous, and needed on an everyday basis but who needs a car to travel at 240 mile per hour or a knife 18 inches long.

A weapon used for assault with combative purposes depends on the rate of fire. That is it and this is because an over whelming amount of anything can be deadly, therefore making the automatic machine gun the most dangerous type of gun. This would be many types of guns including AK47, M16 or the M4 but not its civilian counter part, the AR15. There are significant regulations prohibiting automatic and burst-fire capable guns. However, any semi-automatic is modifiable to have fully-auto capabilities, but for the modification to be made governmental paperwork will ensue. The paper work to own a fully automatic firearm is a Form 4, fingerprints and a criminal investigation for a fully automatic gun will be required. I cannot see how a piece of paper sitting in a file cabinet, or how finger printing someone is preventing the unknown dishonest people from buying a gun, or even how it will save lives since the overwhelming majority of crimes committed with a gun are with guns acquired illegally. These are not very effective preemptive measures and the information gained is not very useful after the fact. It does create an effective way to create a registry of the location of every gun owner, which in my mind is a violation of privacy.

Every weapon built by humankind belongs to humanity, if humanity is to grow and flourish, it must be completely free and responsible for its freedom. It takes that freedom to learn, to understand and adapt the knowledge in useful ways. Absolute freedom is the only way we will be able to evolve as a species.

Our forefathers drafted the constitution and bill of rights so the people can defend freedom just in case this democratic republic fails and tyranny rears its ugly head. Just another check to all balances they put in place because they did not know what the future held. If a revolution does take place, I stand on the grounds if we had been able to take this land from a superior opponent at the time, we shall too be able to overcome the oppressive nature of whatever lies ahead. It does not matter what technologies they hold in their hands, we can win. If the Taliban is still active after eleven years of fighting the power of the US military, I think we would hold our own. It does not matter if the people are up against Blackhawk helicopters or armed Predator drones, every war takes on its own shape and the people fighting will improvise to gain the upper hand but I will not willingly hand over the necessary tools.

Until every government in the world forfeits its military and its right to maintain armaments, starts buying books over bombs, and investing in the people with viable solutions to our social problems, they cannot claim the right to make the people of their country to give up their guns. When our governments maintain atomic weapons, they do not have a say in what kind of rifle we can own. Around the world stricter guns law are being ushered in when the most logical solution is to isolate the cause behind this rash of deadly attacks.

The federal governments’ role is not to interfere in the citizen’s daily lives, governing what we may or may not possess; a local body best governs this role when applicable. Take New York’s experiments with gun control where they are enforcing the ideology we can minimize violent crimes by limiting the gun’s ammunition capacity. I for one think increasing the cost on bullets, and making them too costly would have the better result. Mass shooting will become a thing of the past if it cost $300 to fill your 30 round magazine, that is until people started stealing them from the stores and smelting lead to make their own and defeating the purpose of the tax hike.

I found when looking across the entire board at what the researcher are saying about mass murders, child abductors and serial killers, I found the 18-35 year old unmarried male pose a significant threat to society. If you do not believe me, ask your car insurance sales person the next time you are chatting it up over a new plan of coverage. Insurance companies might not be leading the way in psychological research like with the FBI but I think their specific rates for the different genders and age groups speak volumes as to a comparison on this issue since the majority of FBI’s information is unavailable to the public because it could compromise future investigations. Leading me to believe, age restriction adjustments along with more resources would have the best chance of reducing the amount of violence in general.

The development of Human beings is not yet complete until the age of 25, and along with the liver, the mind is still not fully development. I think it is time to change the limits on alcohol, cigarettes and the age of acceptance into the military as well. I still like the idea of gradually weaning the children off their parent’s tit, and slowly establishing responsibility but I do not think getting a driver’s license at an earlier age than gambling is a sound approach. Logically speaking, I think the two should have be switched around from the start, but without a doubt they are the way they are, but there is not a single reason gambling should not be allowed to 16 year-olds if we allow them Facebook. I think it is a good lesson in math personally and ought to be taught as early as possible. However, this configuration of laws shows just how misaligned our concerns are and no one seems to mind the potential threat of a distracted teenager behind a two-ton battering ram.

Gun classes in school, along with more structured socializing through penmanship and etiquette, and martial arts, as well as more resources for music and in the art departments are not bad ideas when looking at the options in building better adults. In some schools, elective classes still include bowling but cut classes focusing on people’s manners, I feel these classes help to reiterate the importance of focusing on behavioral control and help with our emotional impulses, which can be aligned with an introduction of different theories into the class room. However, the Christian grip hold on schooling is expressed best not in protest over the pledge of allegiance but what is allowed in the curriculum. The debate over Evolution is just the tip of the iceberg, and what is out of public’s sight is how many subjects omitted out of a fear of change to a single cultural background.

The traditional courses do not need to go through a major overhaul, they are proven effective but perhaps with slight adjustments being made we can turn out better functioning adults. We need grass-root bottom-up kind of methodology here. We need to start young and finish strong. We need to focus on legislation that improves our kid’s education inside the classroom by better funding the schools. I hope that if we fill their minds with positive thoughts and useful knowledge we will reduce the negative social impact later.

That is why I think we need to address a restructuring of our public school system on every level to provide a more positive atmosphere in this debate. The old adage goes; it takes a village to raise a child. Our kids are the future and I believe that if we end the foolish wars we wage, we could easily better fund our schools and mental health facilities, steering our future in the right direction. Ending the US fascination with war might also cure the fascination boys have with guns, but there will always be gunplay when we allow our kids to watch war movies. It is easier to educate a child than it is to fix a broken man. So in a sense, teaching our children the proper time to use a gun is of the greatest importance.

I cannot emphasize enough how it is time we start looking for ways to build better-structured schooling so we have well-structured adults. Studies have shown both genders retains information differently and the current system, believed by some favors female intellectual development over male development. In addition to the traditional curriculum changes, I am in favor of gender specific classes as well as co-ed class with in the same curriculum to meet the needs of the individual, maybe even stricter clothing guidelines to take some of the allure of money out of the schooling environment. Kids should also be in school more hours a day and go year round. Serving breakfast at school, giving them social time before class takes over for the majority of the day, I feel small adjustments can have a positive impact on a large scale. Funding for all the extracurricular activities, before school, and after school programs, everything should made mandatory and paid for by the government. Allowing every athlete, scholar, and every other pupil a better chance to participate and to further their education, whatever it takes to get more young people involved within their community. I also am in favor of tacking on a few more years to the requirement in getting a diploma making the need for college less demanding, and with that reducing of the need for the government to reel in the rising cost of tuition. If done within the next ten years, you will find a job market demanding fresh blood as baby-boomers are retiring. Allowing corporations access to more mature, wiser, and independent individuals when the time comes. This could be accomplished by reducing the world’s largest military's highly secretive spending budget by a fraction of its current size.

One subject addressed in the aftermath of Columbine which is important to consider now because of how readily available they are, are antidepressants. They have handfuls of different types, which have their own set of side effects. I think the pharmaceutical companies should be required to release all the information gathered from the extensive studies on Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, as it stands now there is an alleged cover up of the negative effects displayed in antidepressant usage with a certain group. The withdrawal is rare and limited to very small group so we are told, but advertisements on television normally say if the depression gets worst consult a doctor before discontinuing the medication. This is because for the brain to adjust properly, the user must slowly decrease the amount of the drug entering the body, and before anyone starts taking antidepressants the potential user is aware there is an increased risk of suicidal behavior even while steadily using the drug. In the informational packet given with antidepressants, the addiction rate is two percent of the population; other studies have found in their own research the number of people effected to be upwards of 60%. The withdrawal symptoms go away for some after a couple weeks or after returning to the drug but not without running amuck first. In theory, the simple act of forgetting to take one’s pill for a couple days for some could cause a withdrawal resulting in mania, the mania might go away with the next dose but I think it is nearly impossible to forget certain thoughts of this nature after having it. Consequently, this is leading normal people into a violent rage caused by drug-induced psychosis because they were looking for a quick fix from a little pill labeled perfectly safe. This leads to an issue addressed only briefly after the recent events is the current state of mental health care is a horror flick waiting to happen, violent and aggressive people are out on to the streets because there is not enough funding. State ran mental health is inadequately funded due to a lack of concern, and many establishments that are state regulated go without proper food and necessities. When under staffed, residents of the facility will have to do without activities and regular therapy, and often the only time they see a therapist is to adjust the medication. I could go on about the unjustifiable ways the staff and residents are treated or the social stigma behind mental illness across the major cultures leading to people going untreated, there is truly a lot to discuss but we can delve into this subject at another time. My point is, the little bit the president has tried to accomplish on this aspect is like what spotting the iceberg did for the Titanic.

Something tells me though, people are afraid not because it is gangs and poor people shooting each other, but because it is affluent middle class suburbanites attacking the like. My leading belief to what is causing these type of attacks is that the stress from a bad economy coupled with a constantly changing society is making it harder for young men to find a place in society and within their own families, and they eventually lose their footing. Once they do, they violently lash out in a deviant manner to prove themselves fit.

People will lash out violently even without a gun but by educating people about guns and using them properly, we will be able to defend and provide for ourselves. Every tool has the potential to inflict fatal wounds, even one as simple as a sharpened pencil. The pen is mightier than the sword, but we still cherish and fight for our right to free speech. It is also hard to tell which is worst, a bullet to the neck or a pencil; personally, I would not want either one. A tool is as efficient as the user's skill set. I figure a ninja is more deadly with a box of pencils than a child with a rifle is any day of the week. Although, they are probably not as common though, so no worries. We need to base our perceptions on facts established through rational argument and not the fantasies of the misinformed Media, and we must hold the media accountable for the content, as with all types of media because they are a public service. However, I feel the problem lies within the public body itself with this issue, we are too enthralled by this dramatic voyeurism to the point the news sensationalizes these shooting and fuels the fire that destroys our community.

Look at it this way, the only reason anything has value is because you say so, otherwise everything is just a pile of shit. It is our perspective of the purpose of the pile of shit that keeps us apart. If we found value in every pile of shit, we would dissolve our indifference and come together peacefully.